Rivals ParkWhiz, SpotHero grab spots at Chicago Venture Summit

The slate of startups to take the stage before out-of-town investors at next month's Chicago Venture Summit is filling up, with half of the 30 available slots for company presentations now filled.

Among the 10 companies announced Thursday for the Oct. 14-15 event are familiar names — dueling Chicago-based parking-spot finders ParkWhiz and SpotHero, as well as Opternative, which offers refractive eye exams online.

The lineup also includes companies less known outside of business-to-business circles: the self-service claim system Snapsheet, for instance, and Oak Park-based mobile security firm ViaForensics.

The San Francisco-based ride-sharing company is perhaps the most prominent disrupter in technology today due to a regulatory war it...

The invitation-only summit will take place at Venue Six10 on South Michigan Avenue. The goal is to showcase Chicago-area startups to investors who would otherwise fly over the Midwest in search of deals on the coasts.